Nursing professor's research focuses on military veteransShortly after receiving her PhD in nursing from Yale University, where her dissertation research focused on the link between sleep disturbances and falls among military veterans who have experienced strokes, Nancy Knechel found herself drawn to teaching and continuing her research at Dominican for many of the same reasons that appeal to undergraduates seeking their perfect college.https://www.dominican.edu/dominicannews/nursing-professors-research-focuses-on-military-veteranshttps://www.dominican.edu/dominicannews/nursing-professors-research-focuses-on-military-veterans/@@download/image/Nancy Knechel 1 (2).jpg

Nursing professor's research focuses on military veterans

Shortly after receiving her PhD in nursing from Yale University, where her dissertation research focused on the link between sleep disturbances and falls among military veterans who have experienced strokes, Nancy Knechel found herself drawn to teaching and continuing her research at Dominican for many of the same reasons that appeal to undergraduates seeking their perfect college.

“I was interested in staying in a small private university where I could develop a more meaningful rapport, and provide higher quality teaching and mentorship to nursing students than I would be able to provide at a larger university,” says Knechel, who joined the faculty in Dominican’s Department of Nursing in the School of Health and Natural Sciences this fall. “I also really appreciate the diversity at Dominican. Not to mention, Dominican is a beautiful and peaceful campus, yet close to all the activities of a big city.”

Knechel, an assistant professor in the nursing department, plans to involve her students in her ongoing research. Her long-term goal is to develop interventions aimed at reducing the risk of injury to older adults. With falls being a major public health problem, fall prevention is the focus of many local, state, and national policy initiatives.

Last month Knechel was invited to present her dissertation research as a Bloomberg Scholar at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing Emerging Nurse Scholars Forum in Toronto. The forum is an invitation-only program in which developing nursing scholars present their doctoral/postdoctoral research to an international audience of peers and faculty. She also was elected as the one presenter to be highlighted in the Forum’s Pulse Magazine.

Knechel earned her bachelor of science in biology from California State University, Chico; her bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore; and her masters of science in nursing – adult acute care NP from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Leadership and awards include: Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar (2014-2015); Gerontological Society of America’s Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization (2013-2015); John A Hartford Foundation Patricia G. Archbold BAGNC Scholar (2012-2015); American Society on Aging Scholar (2014); Elected to American Nurses Association Congress on Nursing Practice & Economics (term served); Yale Mentorship Taskforce Committee member (2012); Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics Editor (2010-2011); Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics Submissions Squad member (2010-2011).